AWB today announced it has increased its estimated pool returns (EPRs) for barley for all grades by $9/t, taking the EPR for feed 1 barley to $184 a tonne and Baudin/Gairdner malt to $232 a tonne (FOB, excl GST).

AWB General Manager Commodities Mitch Morison said that prices for barley from the Black Sea region have shown a gradual price rise and other commodities have moved even further. Sea freight rates have also risen, making Australian barley more competitive to many destinations.

“We’ve held the view that world barley prices are too cheap in the current environment and recent movement has confirmed our view,” Mr Morison said.

“We are seeing increased enquiry for combination cargoes of wheat and barley, which is one of our strengths.

“We’ve increased our pool estimates to reflect increased opportunities from all port zones and believe there is further potential upside.

“Growers worldwide have been showing their displeasure with barley prices by not selling, which is forcing values higher.

“The challenge for Australian growers is to manage their cash flow needs in this rising environment, which is where our pool comes in – cash flow as needed while allowing the market to keep working in their favour.

“This point has been highlighted by growers enquiring about our barley pool, so we’ve refined our harvest finance package for this pool to give more harvest cash flow, by deducting only 70% of costs from the first payment, instead of the normal 100%,” Mr Morison said.

AWB’s barley pool is accepting accept F1 & F2 barley in WA & SA, as well as Baudin, Gairdner, Buloke and Vlamingh malt varieties in WA.

New EPRs: F1 $184/t, F2 $174/t, BA1 $232/t, GA1 $232/t, BU1 $224/t, VL1 $219/t (EPRs are FOB, excl GST).

Media Inquiries:  Ian Desborough 03 9209 2335 or 0418 853 881

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